Strong and shallow M6.9 earthquake hits Molucca Sea, Indonesia
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.9 hit the Molucca Sea, Indonesia at 15:08 UTC on July 7, 2019. The agency is reporting a depth of 36.3 km (22.5 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.9 at a depth of 20 km (12.4 miles).
The epicenter was located 135 km (84 miles) WSW of Ternate (population 101 731) and 153 km (95 miles) W of Sofifi (population 36 197), North Maluku, Indonesia.
BMKG issued a tsunami warning, predicting waves of 50 cm (1.6 feet) for parts of North Sulawesi and North Maluku.
#Peringatan Dini Tsunami di SULUT,MALUT, Gempa Mag:7.1, 07-Jul-19 22:08:39WIB, Lok:0.51LU,126.18BT,Kdlmn:10Km#BMKG pic.twitter.com/8uMRtHXPXJ
— BMKG (@infoBMKG) July 7, 2019
There are no people living within 100 km (62 miles).
2 919 000 people are estimated to have felt light shaking.
The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are unreinforced brick with concrete floor and precast concrete frame with wall construction.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
Featured image credit: Google, TW/SAM
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